Bridal registries are commonly known. Traditionally, in the United States, when a couple decides to marry, they will often go to particular stores and choose certain items which they would like to receive as gifts at their wedding. The particular store registers the name of the couple and the gifts that they have selected. The register is often nothing more than a log book. In recent times the registry has become a computer database that is available for interaction by a touch screen.
The current practice is to have a bridal registry or baby registry in a single store. Multiple stores in a shopping mall may each have their own registries. This requires the registrants to go through the registration process at each store where they wish to register. Additionally, potential purchasers must follow the current practice of entering certain information regarding the registrant via the interactive touch screen at each store where the registrant is registered. This then requires the potential purchasers to have to wait in line to operate the registry and get printouts at each of the multiple stores.
Currently, it is only the larger stores that can afford to have the equipment to operate an automated self service gift registry system. Consequently, many smaller stores and vendors at which the bride and the groom or the parents of the child may wish to be registered are not able to have their own registry system. Additionally, potential purchasers may not like the store typically used for registries, or the potential purchasers may have coupons at other stores or have employee discounts at other stores. Finally, because other stores may have the same items that the registrants have registered for at a lower price than the store in which the registry is located, the registry at the first store often does not accurately reflect the gifts which have been purchased elsewhere.
While this kind of self-service gift registry system has met with tremendous acceptance in the marketplace, there is a continued need for a multi-merchant registry that allows registrants to register for goods from a multitude of merchants.
The present invention provides a system for registering items selected by a registrant from a plurality of participating merchants for subsequent communication to a prospective purchaser. The system has a computer system that contains identifying information about the registrant. A portable input and storage device is provided that can be carried by the registrant into a plurality of participating stores. The portable input and storage device is capable of receiving and storing information regarding gifts that the registrant desires to receive as presents. The input and storage device stores a unique identifier for the particular merchant each desired gift is from. A transfer device is provided connected to the computer system that receives the information regarding the registrant""s desired gifts from the portable input and storage device and transfers the information to the computer system. Finally, a prospective purchaser interface device is provided that allows the prospective purchaser to view, sort or print a list of the gifts desired by the registrant and which particular merchant those gifts are from.